Weird RAM issue or Ubuntu at fault ?

[mohitchawla]

Hello folks, I faced a strange problem last night.

I just set the timings, frequency & voltage of my RAM as per the company-recommended settings at 1333MHz(using memory ratio equal to 5 on my motherboard), 9-9-9-24 @ 1.5V for the particular model (in sig).

The thing is I tested the settings in memtest86+ for over an hour without errors (one complete pass).

However, when I booted into the OS, and started doing some web browsing, the system rebooted. This happened twice.

I am still using the same settings, and nothing has happened yet.

My questions:

1. Could this possibly be a software issue ?
2. What could have led to the reboots ?
3. I have been running the system now for over two hours now, and nothing has happened yet. Should I be worried still ?

[cascade9]

It could be your RAM speed settings, but its probably more liekly that you got a minor power blimp.

BTW, the 1333 setting is overclocked-

http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=pr...=&prod_no=1804

[norseman-has-a-laptop]

in my opinion i think its your ram but its always good to check your system ...

[jrssystemsnet]

However, when I booted into the OS, and started doing some web browsing, the system rebooted. This happened twice.

"Overclocked system" and "odd reboots for no apparent reason" go hand in hand. If you want stability, don't overclock. If you insist on overclocking, expect system instability (and plan on doing a LOT of testing to try to identify relatively stable values).

[cascade9]

"Overclocked system" and "odd reboots for no apparent reason" go hand in hand. If you want stability, don't overclock. If you insist on overclocking, expect system instability (and plan on doing a LOT of testing to try to identify relatively stable values).

Not always, I ran overclcoked for years with no issue. It was a minor overlcock, none of this 30%+ business, but still overclocked.

Just overclocking the RAM shouldnt give any major issues, which is all that mohitchawla has done (and I would bet that he doesnt even know that its overclocked)

[doas777]

how is your thermal looking, and does the shutdown seem to coincide with the usage of any particular device?
I had a guy last week with a dying nic. every time he dialed up to dsl, it would work about 10 min before blackscreening (cause the nic pulled too much power).

personally I would suspect the ram or mobo, but I really can't recommend OCing. the performance boost is negligible, and is fraught with peril (and not fun peril like at the castle anthrax).

[mohitchawla]

Thanks for the replies folks.

@cascade9: I know I was overclocking the RAM, by company settings I meant Corsair suggested settings. So that's not even hobbyist overclocking, just running the component at its designated specs !

And I haven't had other OC issues as such. Been running at 4GHz just fine. But I am waiting for a new PSU before going further.

Anyway, I have done enough passes of memtest86+ and a few hours of MPrime too...so most likely RAM is not faulty. The restart could also have been due to the nvidia blob. So, I am looking into that too.

[cascade9]

It doesnt matter if the RAM is rated at 1333, its still an overclcock, and to run the RAM at 1333 with an i7 means either overclocking the blck (internal base clock) or uclk (uncore clock ratio).

It wouldnt call a 25%+ overclock on anything 'small'. Not that you should have that many issues with a simple RAM overclock.

If you were running @ 4GHz when it happened, I would think that it is your overclock. Running ANYTHING at a 50% overclock is way out of the envelope, and you are far more likely to get issues. Things like minor power blips that normally would do nothing can bring everything to a screaming halt.

Of course, its always possibel that your nVidia blob did it, but I doubt it. If it was nVidia related, it would be the overclock that actually pushed things over the edge IMO.

[soltanis]

With all that overclocking going on, you might be cooking your system. It is possible that your RAM/processor is fine, but you are overheating your graphics card because of increased ambient heat.

Check your CPU/GPU temperature readings. If they redline and then you reboot, then there's your problem there. Otherwise, if your temp readings are fine but your random reboots are still happening, dial down your memory clock and see if that helps.

The performance boost you get from OCing your RAM isn't all that much anyway.

[norseman-has-a-laptop]

cool your system down to about 60-50 degrees and your cooking will be solved lol i over clock like none other with my cool system